


The Magical Time Paradox

by Beelzebub_fuckers



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon)
Genre: Castlevania Series Spoilers, F/M, Feel-good, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:14:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28255251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beelzebub_fuckers/pseuds/Beelzebub_fuckers
Summary: Through magical mishaps, our tragic trio travels through time. They find a world seemingly untouched by Dracula’s war on humans. What does this mean?
Relationships: Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades, Dracula/Lisa (Castlevania)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello. This is my take on Home Sweet Home by BestParsley. They wrote a WONDERFUL fic about Castlevania time travel that hasn’t got an update since March. Well I’m dying for more and you know what they say. Be the change you want in the world. I’m totally using their idea and I HIGHLY recommend reading their wonderful fic. My ideas are my own and by reading theirs you will get to compare and contrast our writing and ideas on the story. Welcome to my take on the trio traveling back in time to find Lisa and Dracula alive, The Magical Time Paradox

Alucard was beginning to appreciate the Belmont hold. He despised that case of vampire skulls. Brutal trophies of his kind’s extermination. The hatred of his kind made his blood run cold at times and boil at others. But he did find small gems. A diary of a Belmont ancestor detailing her sexual experiences with vampires. First describing their charms and glamour, a “nasty trick” they used to “lure the innocent.” Then going on to describe their proclaimed sexual deviancy and “unusual skills in the act of sexual exchange.” The hypocrisy was astounding and Alucard ate up every page. But there was also poetry, pieces of art, existential soliloquies about the pointlessness of endless dangerous battles against a tireless immortal enemy. No Belmont, it seems, lived to die of old age. And they wrote their malaise for all their descendants to read and share comfort in. Knowing they weren’t alone. Alucard found it fascinating to look into the lives of hundreds of warriors and their internal worlds. Their creative pursuits and thoughts. 

Sypha shared this interest. She loved the first hand accounts of Belmonts past. Alucard supposed a Speaker would take interest in such stories. That is what they did, after all. She sat beside him, flipping through the pages of yet another leather-bound Belmont book. Brushing her fingertips over the faded words inside as she went. 

“Wow.” She whispered. “This is beautiful.” 

“Hmm?” Alucard hummed, signaling his interest. 

Sypha read aloud the poem within. Something in Adamic. Alucard vaguely recognized what it meant from other ancient languages he’d learned. It was about time, mistakes, repairing the past. Something of that subject. 

“What the bloody hell does that mean?” Trevor asked from across the room, frowning in the way he always did when they were talking about something he didn’t understand. 

“It’s a poem! It’s so beautiful. It’s about repairing the broken past, and moving past regrets to bond with the abandoned loves of the past.” Sypha explained. 

“Wow.” Trevor said sarcastically. 

“Ugh! You have no appreciation for the art your ancestors created!” Sypha scoffed. “You must be the least creative Belmont. You have never looked deeper inside of yourself than the skin of your eyelids!”

Trevor rolled his eyes. “Never mind.”

“I imagine it’s even better in its original language.” Alucard said, indulging Sypha’s excitement.

“Oh yes.” She breathed. “Like magic. Good poetry should read like a spell.”

Alucard frowned. “Are you sure it  _ isn’t  _ a spell?”

“If it was, it would be in a spell book. Besides, what kind of spell would this be? It talks about time. I don’t know of any magic that can turn back time.” Sypha set the book down. “Time isn’t an element, or a piece of matter to exert your will on. It’s nothing I would know how to mold with magic.” 

“Right.” Trevor said, setting down the crossbow he’d been examining. “Fascinating as that all is, I think we should probably be getting to sleep. You’ll have many more days to tear apart my library.”

“More days are never a guarantee.” Alucard replied.

“Shut up.” Was Trevor’s witty comeback. “Smart ass.” He draped a blanket over Sypha’s shoulders. He kissed Sypha’s cheek, then did the same for Alucard. As if broken from a spell, Alucard’s eyes fluttered with sleep the moment Trevor’s lips brushed his face. 

“My.” He said, basking in the lingering warmth of his boyfriend’s lips. “How sentimental.”

“Shut up.” Trevor said again. “I knew you were tired.”

“Mmm.” Alucard replied, closing his eyes.

“Sit down, Treffy. At least stay with us if we’re going to sleep.” Sypha said.

“Well of course. Nowhere else to go.” He said, wrapping his cloak around himself. “Nowhere I want to be.”

“Aw. So sweet.”

“Go to sleep.” Trevor said, embarrassment grating his voice. 

They did. Slumped over the oak tables, hands clasped together in a pile. The night wore away under the hours of sleep. 

* * *

“Trevor.” Alucard said urgently. He shook him by the shoulders. “Wake up. Somethings wrong.”

As soon as Trevor’s sleepy mind processed the words being said to him his hand was on his whip. He leapt to his feet, sharp eyes scanning the area. Nothing seemed immediately out of place. “What’s wrong? Where are they?” He asked, his voice still rough with sleep. 

“Nobody is here.” Alucard said. “It’s what  _ isn’t  _ here that’s the real problem.”

“What the  _ hell _ does that mean?” Trevor snapped. 

Sypha was waking up to the sounds of their arguing. “Oh, what are you stupid boys squabbling about now?”

“The castle is gone.” Alucard said.

“ _What_?!” They shouted in unison. 

“Why do you give the explanation to  _ her _ ?!” Trevor snarled. In an instant they were all up from their seats and running for the elevator system that Alucard had set up. But there was no elevator system. Trevor gaped at the undamaged stairs. The miraculously missing bloodstains. The wood that seemed to have magically mended itself. If Trevor didn’t know better he’d say they’d gone back in time. 

He had a bad feeling. 

They ran up the stairs together, the magical door that had been smashed was there once again. As if it had never been touched in the first place. They peered over the edge of the open trapdoor and to their shock and horror, the castle was indeed gone. Weeds covered the untended Belmont estate. The tall grass waved in the breeze undisturbed. As if the castle had never sat atop it. There was no sign of anything ever being there. 

“How can this  _ happen _ ?” Sypha gasped. “The engine was destroyed. The castle was trapped by magic! Who could have  _ stolen  _ it without us noticing?”

“The grass is undisturbed too.” Trevor pointed out. “Why is that?”

“There is no possible way we wouldn’t have noticed the castle moving.” Alucard said. “It’s a major explosive event. It would’ve shook the Belmont hold. We would have woken up. There’s no way it moved, even with magic.”

“But it’s not  _ here _ .” Trevor hissed. 

Alucard scoffed. “Excellent observational skills, Belmont. The quality of your bloodline shows itself once again.”

“You ball sack chafing–”

“Boys!” Sypha shouted. “Stop arguing and get your scrawny butts down here before I set fire to them!  _ We _ are going to look in the magic mirror to find out where our castle is, we are going to go to it, and we are going to kick the asses of whoever _dared_ to take it from us!”

Alucard and Trevor instantly fell silent. Sypha had spoken. So that’s how it will be. It was a good plan anyway. 

Alucard got the mirror into working condition and used his will to bring about an image of the castle. There it stood. Somewhere in the mountains. Wait, no. Not somewhere. Alucard recognized that mountain. The castle had been parked there, for lack of a better work, for the better part of his childhood. He recognized those pear trees that his father had planted for his mother. And the little stream that ran down the side of the mountain. But that was impossible. The trees were in bloom. That happened in the earlier part of spring. It was autumn at the moment. 

What the hell was going on?

“Well, the good news is I know where it is.” Alucard announced. 

“The bad news?” Sypha asked.

“It’s on the other side of Wallachia.”

Trevor groaned. “Great. They couldn’t have put it in a more convenient place.”

“It’s isolated from the rest of human society. Somewhere they wouldn’t find it. But scenic. My mother liked this mountain. I grew up on this mountain.” Alucard said. He frowned. “It seems strange to put the castle there. Whoever took it knew where it had been previously.”

“Maybe one of Dracula’s loyal freak followers who wanted to put it back in its place.” Trevor guessed. “Whatever. Let’s pack up the wagon. God, I wish our lives were fucking normal.”

Sypha sighed. Time for another adventure. God help them all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio arrives at the castle. What do they find?

Things only got stranger once they began their journey. After Dracula’s war, people became even more traditional and barbaric than before. Looking for structure and comfort, they turned to religious dictators and became radicals. They shut out travelers in paranoid fear and built walls around even the smallest villages. But things didn’t seem to be that way when they passed through human settlements. People were friendly. Children played in the streets. Old women sold apples on the road. There were no crosses and spikes or makeshift walls at the edges of town. And when Trevor mentioned the night hordes, the people looked at him in confusion. They waved off the monsters as legends. 

“What is  _ wrong  _ with everybody?” Trevor spat. “You’d think the year of unending terror would’ve had a greater impact on people’s memories.”

“Something is strange about all of this.” Sypha agreed. “It’s spring as well. I don’t think we slept through the winter.”

Alucard had that feeling again. One he’d been having for the past two weeks of their journey across Wallachia. That niggling feeling that he  _ knew  _ what was wrong. Like looking at a man you know instinctively in dangerous. You can’t put your finger on it. But he knew. Deep down he knew what was wrong. But it was so confusing and impossible that he couldn’t even think it.

The trip up the mountain was scenic. Exactly as Alucard remembered it. Fresh pine. Singing birds. Blackberry bushes and fragrant wildflowers along a small path. That anxious feeling in Alucard only grew as they ascended the mountain. His traveling companions seemed affected as well. Trevor had his tell-tale nervous grip on the morning star, Sypha was alert. There was nothing ominous or dangerous about the forest. But perhaps that was even more nerve wracking. The idea of hidden danger. Being caught unaware. Letting your guard down at the wrong moment. Things were tense and silent all the way up. 

Midway up the mountain the castle sat innocuously. It looked as if it had been there for some time. Ivy grew up the walls and weeds at its base. The ground was settled around it. Alucard eyed the building suspiciously. 

Trevor hopped out first, helping Sypha down from her place on the wagon. Alucard reluctantly stepped off. 

“Anything wrong?” Trevor asked, knowing Alucard had the best senses of all of them.

“Nothing yet.” Alucard admitted. “Although, I must admit I’m nervous to open the door.”

“We’ll do it together.” Sypha said assuringly. 

So they walked up together, which much less confidence than they had the last time they marched united to Dracula’s door. When they were here to actually kill the man. A task that meant near certain death. But their nerves shook them this time. Because they didn’t know what was waiting. Alucard pushed the door open, somewhat surprised it wasn’t locked. It swung open without complaint, though. 

They stepped inside. 

Again, things were amiss. No damage. No crumbling stone, no craters in the floor. No blood on the walls. Nothing to suggest the epic battle they’d had there not one year ago. Alucard swept his eyes over it suspiciously. The lights were on, the hall was clean. Well, clean as it ever got. The castle was always dusty. But it seemed appropriately cared for. The castle was  lived in. Despite not really being so for two years now. Nobody cared for the castle. 

They walked further in. Trevor looked like he wanted to ask questions, but didn’t dare to make noise that might draw attention to their presence. Everyone was light on their feet. Walking from toe to heel and making their way quietly up the stairs together. 

As they ventured down the hall on the second floor, Alucard heard something strange. Someone was  _ singing _ in the castle. Nobody ever did such a thing. Not since–

“Mother?” He whispered. Suddenly, he felt frantic. Alucard dashed down the hall, following the singing voice like a sailor drawn to a siren. Completely ignoring the whispered screams his companions sent after him. He neared closer and closer to the study. He gripped the door frame so hard he cracked the wood, looking in with disbelieving eyes to see his mother. 

Lisa. Fresh faced, golden hair pulled back in a ribbon. A simple blue dress hugged her body. She was bent over the work bench taking note of something. She looked up at the sound of the doorframe breaking under Alucard’s hands. Her face lit up in a smile when she saw him. 

“Oh, hello. Back so soon? You’d hardly left three weeks ago!” 

Alucard’s knees shook under him. His entire world came crumbling around him.  _Impossible_.  It was impossible. His mother died. He saw the mob. He had tearfully scraped what ashes he could salvage off the brick streets. Brought it back home in a mahogany box and tucked it away on a shelf. He’d mourned her death. She  _ died _ . 

His breath came in stuttering gasps. He could hardly draw air. His chest felt so tight. Like he was being crushed. Lisa abandoned her pen and rushed towards him, concerned. “Adrian? What happened to you? Are you alright?”

“Mom?” He managed. 

“Yes.” She assured him. “Yes, Adrian. Did you get hurt?”

His arms surged forward of their own accord, scooping up his mother around her torso and lifting her straight off the ground. He pulled her against his chest and held her tight. She was  real . Or at least solid. He felt her warmth. Heard her breathing. She was alive. She was alive in his arms. He cried. Tears falling into her hair while he cradled her close. 

Lisa cried in alarm. “Adrian! Please, speak to me.”

“Mom.” He repeated. “ _Mom_. ”

“Alucard.” Trevor was behind him. He put a hand on his shoulder. 

Sypha was in tow. She looked at the golden haired woman trapped in Alucard’s arms. Saw her face and how familiar it was. “ _Trevor_. ” She gasped. It couldn’t be. It was impossible. 

Nobody could believe it. Lisa Tepes, the innocent doctor whose gruesome murder had started the genocide of the human race, standing before them. Trevor looked her up and down, trying to sense any kind of black magic. Any instinctual alarm he might have, passed down from ancestors used to dealing with this shit. But there was nothing. For all he could tell, she was a normal human being. 

“Alucard.” He said again, gentle as he could manage. “You have to put her down. She’s scared.”

He was trying. But letting go now? After everything that happened? It seemed impossible. 

But Lisa was already putting pieces together. She could see a long scar running over Adrain’s shoulder where he held her. An injury that had  _ not  _ been there three weeks ago. Not to mention his two companions, with worried and sympathetic faces. Something had happened to her son while he was away. He couldn’t deny him her comfort while he was like this. She cast aside her shock and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Oh, my son.” She sighed. “I’m sorry.”

He was crying before, but breaking now. Little sobs turned into wails. Sypha wrapped her arms around Alucard, only releasing him to pull Trevor in too. Trevor tensed up.  _God_ , now they were all hugging in Dracula’s fucking castle. His life. 

Speaking of Dracula. 

“What are you doing here,  _ Belmont _ ?”

God shits in his dinner again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awoooga. Angst is my bread and butter. Why do I like writing about pain?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello. Took a break for Christmas. Now I’m back. Anyway, they tell Dracula and Lisa what happened and settle in. YEEHAW

Trevor had just enough time to turn around. Confronted by the towering, angry figure of Dracula once again. He’d never admit it out loud, but he nearly pissed his pants. He’d seen Dracula throw his son through walls. It was the most difficult fight of his life, and all of them nearly died doing it. The very thought of doing it again, with Alucard out of commission, he could see his pitiful life flashing before his eyes. 

“Ah.” He said. His mind numb with panic. “Hello.”

Dracula seemed utterly unmoved by Trevor’s polite greeting. But Alucard was. He finally let go of his mother to grab Trevor. Sweeping him behind Alucard protectively. Alucard looked completely awful, teary eyed and shocked to the core. But he put all of it aside to protect his companions. “Father, these are my... friends.”

The vampire lord softened instantly when he saw his son. “My boy, what happened to you?” He lifted his clawed hands, probably to comfort him as Lisa had. But instead of leaning into his touch Alucard flinched back. 

Dracula looked up at Trevor, livid. 

“I didn’t do it.” Trevor said, stupidly. Just made him look guilty. 

“Explain these silver scars, then.” Dracula hissed, pointing one long claw to the crisscrossing raised scars along Alucard’s torso. 

Well, the weapons that had done the damage _ had _ come from the Belmont hold. Trevor sighed, guilty. But he hadn’t used them on Alucard. 

“That’s a long story.” Sypha spoke finally. “One that brought us here, although we’re not exactly sure how, yet.”

She paused, mind racing. There was only one plausible explanation for everything. The springtime. The townspeople who didn’t seem to remember the year of night hordes invading and killing their children. As well as Dracula and Lisa standing before them, alive. “I think we somehow... traveled back in time.”

Alucard sagged. Trevor took a sharp breath. She’d finally said aloud what they’d all been silently thinking for weeks. 

“So... that stupid poem you read.” Trevor drawled. 

“Yes.” Sypha said guiltily. 

“That you said couldn’t possibly be a spell.” Trevor continued. “Was a spell.”

“That _would_ make sense.” She admitted, a little snappish. 

“Well, shit.” Trevor said. “Wish we’d known about that sooner. Could’ve avoided all of the drama we went through. Well, that’s that. All settled. Might as well move in and meet the parents.”

“Move in?” Dracula growled. “I think not, Belmont. You are to get out of my house immediately.”

“Vlad! Don’t be rude.” Lisa pushed forward. “Adrian has already introduced these young people as his friends. They’re welcome here as long as they’d like to stay. May I take your cloak, Mister...?”

“Trevor.” He answered, blood coloring his cheeks. “No honorifics required. I’m fine ma’am.”

Lisa turned to Sypha. “My, you’re so pretty. Are you a speaker?”

Sypha beamed at the charming woman. “Yes. Of the Codrii caravan.”

“That’s wonderful. Speakers are storytellers, correct?” Lisa took Sypha’s hands in her own. “Then you can tell us the story of what happened up to this point. And help us understand how you all came to be friends, as well as the reason you believe you’ve taken a jump back in time.”

_And why my son is hurt_. 

“I’d be happy to.” Sypha said. “Although, I think we’ll need to sit for this. It’s a long story.” 

“We have a sitting room! I’ll put in some tea, and you can gather your thoughts. Come.” 

So it was. They followed Lisa to a comfortable room full of sofas. An ornate rug covered the stone floor. The fireplace crackled merrily. Alucard dropped himself onto a sofa against the wall, looking once more distraught. Sypha sat next to him, holding his hand for comfort. Trevor took her other side. Then Dracula settled himself on the opposite sofa while his wife set about boiling tea over the fire. She set out fine teacups, sugar, and cream. Then smoothed her skirts out and sat beside her husband. 

“Now. Why don’t you get started while our tea boils.”

“Oh, right. Well, the important part is the beginning.” Sypha bit her lip, uncomfortable. Trevor took pity on her. This was the hard part. Breaking the news of Lisa’s death to the living pair. He patted her thigh in a way he hoped was reassuring. “At the Cathedral in Targoviste, there was an inquisition. The subject was one Lisa Tepes, an accused witch. The church found her guilty after a short trial and had her promptly burned at the stake.”

Lisa sighed, but didn’t look particularly surprised. Dracula grit his teeth in anger. Sypha nervously continued. “Dracula was traveling, and didn’t arrive in time to stop the burning. She died.”

Alucard’s breath shuddered, and Sypha paused, squeezing his hand. 

“Dracula, driven mad with grief, began to plan the extinction of the human race. One year later, the night hordes destroyed Gresit. And every night after, thousands more died.”

“Eventually Trevor Belmont arrived in Gresit, not particularly interested in saving the people of Wallachia, he was just passing through. Nonetheless he saved my grandfather from priests, and at his request, went into the catacombs beneath the city to recover my remains. I had gone to find the sleeping soldier, a figure of legend said by locals to be waiting beneath the city to help its people in their time of need. I had fallen into a trap though, frozen by a stone cyclops. Trevor saved me from petrifaction and proceeded to liberate the speakers, and the city from the night hordes.”

“Then we fell down a hole into the catacombs again, where we found Alucard in a coffin. He had been resting for the past year to recover from injuries dealt by his father when he attempted to stop him from releasing the horde.”

Dracula flinched, and Lisa frowned. But Sypha wasn’t finished. “We agreed to destroy Dracula together. And went to the Belmont hold to gather information on how to do it. There we found most of a locking spell. I completed the spell and trapped Dracula’s castle.”

“Trapped?” Dracula asked, startling Sypha. 

“Oh! By that I mean, your castle travels around through magical means. Invading your castle would be impossible if you kept jumping around. So I brought the castle to us and trapped it in place.” Sypha explained. 

“And melted the engine room while you were doing it.” Trevor added.

“I did not!”

“You did.” Alucard agreed. “You destroyed the engine.”

“It melted on its own! Not my fault it resisted me.”

Dracula raised a surprised brow. “That is impressive magic, Speaker. To override my own power and steal my castle from me. Nobody had ever accomplished such a feat before.”

“She’s stubborn.” Trevor said. And it was true. 

“Anyway!” Sypha snapped at Trevor. “We invaded the castle.”

“Which means I perished.” Dracula said.

Alucard wilted. Trevor looked away awkwardly. “Yes.” Sypha agreed. “It was not an easy battle. But in the end Dracula was destroyed.”

“Following that Trevor and I traveled around the countryside while Alucard guarded the collective wealth of the Belmont hold and the castle of Dracula. After a month of adventures, me and Trevor came across a town run by cultists determined to bring back Dracula and his wife. They sacrificed a whole town through magic to do it, feeding the souls to a night creature. Which we destroyed.” She shook her head. “It was a tragedy beyond description. And afterwards we returned to the castle to see Alucard again.”

“Only to find the people he staked.” Trevor said. “Don’t worry, they deserved it. That’s where the silver scars came from. The long one on his chest was Dracula. And we sorted it all out. So after that they read a bunch of my books. Sypha read a time spell. And here we are. Looking at the vampire we killed and the wife he committed genocide for.”

The room was silent afterwards. Except for the tea, whistling in its kettle. Sypha stood up and retrieved it, pouring it into the cups, but nobody seemed interested in tea. 

Lisa stood and pulled her son to his feet, embracing him once again. “I’m so sorry, Adrian. You suffered so much.”

Alucard pursed his lips awkwardly. He didn’t know what to say. What was there to say? Now that everything had been laid near. Didn’t she process the idea of her death? The genocide? Her husband ripping into her son? Wasn’t she worried about dying now that she knew how her husband may react? He almost felt like he should be comforting her. Minimizing his pain to reassure her. But he couldn’t lie to her. She wouldn’t believe him. She was smart like that. 

Dracula sat on the sofa, the angry, brooding enigma that Trevor always imagined him to be. Watching his wife and son. He leveled his glowing red eyes on Trevor, who averted his gaze awkwardly. He never imagined he’d have to sit down for  _ tea _ with fucking  _ Dracula _ . He picked up his cup and stirred a sugar cube into the steaming water, taking an awkward sip. Sypha followed his lead, adding a drizzle of cream to hers and looking everywhere but where Lisa stood embracing her son and Dracula sat glaring at them. 

Alucard seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere, he pulled himself back from his mother, cupping his face in his hands to brush his thumb over her cheek. Lisa smiled at her son, sadness still ringing her eyes. 

“Right.” He gestured to his friends. “Mother. Father. I’d like to formally introduce you to Sypha Belnades and... Trevor Belmont. As you heard they helped me. They’re going to stay here while we figure out what to do next.”

Dracula looked rather bothered, but Lisa just nodded. “Of course! Let’s prepare two guest bedrooms immediately.”

“No, no.” Trevor said. “We only need one.”

Lisa looked between the two adults sitting on her couch and gave a knowing smile. “I see. One large bed then.”

Sypha gave Trevor a scathing look and Dracula released a long suffering sigh. “Oh stop it.” Lisa said, leaning over to pat her husband’s cheek. “Young love! How wonderful. Come help me shake out the sheets. You, my dear, are going to bathe that man before he gets in my clean linens. And show Sypha our wonderful rose soap! I’m sure she’ll love them.”

Alucard smiled in spite of himself. “Hear that, Belmont? Even my mother says you need a bath.”

“Bite me, Alucard.”

“Oh, if I didn’t know better I’d call that an invitation.” He plucked the teacup out of Trevor’s hands. Setting it aside. 

“You’re a festering wound on my ass.” Trevor shot back, following Alucard out of the room. 

Dracula snarled. “Does he  _ always  _ talk like that?”

Sypha startled, realizing she was the one being addressed. “Oh! With Alucard? Yes. But if I’m being fair, Alucard usually starts it. If only Trevor didn’t rise to his every snide remark! I’m surrounded by children, I swear. Well, I’ll leave you with your wife.” She rambled nervously, edging closer and closer to the edge of the room before leaving as quickly as she could without running.

Dracula listened to her quick footsteps down the hall. 

“Forgive them, dear. They’ve had some hard years.” Lisa said gently. 

“They treat me like a monster.”

“To them, you were.”

He looked away, but Lisa could tell he was in pain. She laid her hand on his shoulder gently. “It wasn’t you.” 

“Adrian.” Dracula sighed. “He can hardly look at me. He’s covered in scars. How can I heal hurts I don’t understand?”

“You will understand. He will tell you. Once he remembers you’re not a monster. You’re his father.” She held his hand, gentle as ever. “All you have to do is be patient and understanding. Which means understanding his friends and any new behaviors.”

Dracula sighed. “You’re right. As always.”

Lisa grinned, reaching up to tuck a black lock behind her husband’s pointed ear. Letting her finger trail down and hook under his chin. She pulled him down into a sweet kiss. “That’s my husband.”

* * *

Alucard let out an anxious breath as soon as he and Trevor were out of his parent’s earshot. 

“That actually went much better than I expected.” Trevor said. “My guts are still in my stomach. Rather than on my tunic.”

As much as Alucard wanted to scold Trevor for being tactless yet again, he had worried about the very same thing. As evidenced by how he’d shoved Trevor behind him. He laughed a little, utterly shocked. 

“Hey. Don’t worry about me. I can handle him. I’m a fucking Belmont. Death has never frightened me. Are  _you_ okay?”

“Oh me? I mean, other than seeing my genocidal father and dead mother again I’m fine.” 

Trevor frowned. He wasn’t good at this. He  _ really _ wasn’t good at this. Sypha handled all the emotional stuff. Trevor was the handsome drunk who kicked ass at night. He took a steadying breath. “Okay. I don’t really know how you feel. My family was never this... complicated. But I  _ think _ this is a good thing. Your mom is alive. Your dad didn’t go _fucking_ shit hive crazy. You have a second chance! And you didn’t lose Sypha or me. We’re here to help you, like we have for everything you had to face before. So pick yourself up. Okay?”

Alucard looked up at Trevor, subtly, through his curtain of golden hair, and saw Trevor’s anxious expression. Well, he supposed he could be nice. The man was trying after all. “Right.” He agreed. “Let’s get you that bath, then.”

Sypha joined them as Alucard ran the water. “My god! Your father is intense! I nearly fainted when he looked at me.”

“He was always like that. My mother brought the softness out in him.” 

“Yeah. And Sypha brings out the nice side in  _ you _ while you treat me like a whipping boy.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, Belmont. Now get in that fucking water before I drag your filthy ass outside and hose you down like a dog.”

“Yeah yeah, you just want to see me naked.” Trevor said, stripping himself of his shirt and unlacing his pants. 

Alucard had to admit some appeal. Hard, tanned warrior body. It was exactly his type. It was practically unfair that someone so grating and irritating was also the most attractive man he’d ever seen in his life. He stared unapologetically while Trevor dropped his pants. It was also unfair how well endowed he was. Not that Alucard would ever be stupid enough to say it out loud. Never give him the satisfaction. Smug bastard. 

Trevor climbed into the water, sighing in contentment. “How’d you do that? Get hot water without boiling it and bringing it up in buckets.”

“We do boil it. And the pipes do the hauling. There’s a vessel downstairs on top of a furnace. The water is pumped into the vessel and the furnace heats it. Then pipes pull it up here and you get a hot bath. With  _ soap _ , Belmont. Foreign concept, I know.”

He snatched the bar from Alucard’s hands. “Whatever. Cockwart.”

“Idiot.”

“Boys.” Sypha sighed. “Soooo... Lisa mentioned a large bed. Just how large?”

“Oh, large enough for the three of us.” Alucard said casually. 

“ _Really_?” Trevor purred. “Well, we’ll have to take full advantage of that.”

Alucard was still reeling from the sudden resurrection of his parents. Yet somehow Trevor’s sexual antics already had his blood heating up. He couldn’t even bring himself to feel guilty. “Well, since you’ve bathed and everything.”

“Oh, you’re right! Wow, I’m looking forward to this!” Sypha gasped, a wide grin spread over her face. “How soon will that bed be ready?”

“Fuck, if you two are so eager we can just do it in the bath.”

Sypha laughed. “Wash your hair, little bear.”

“Little bear?” Alucard asked. 

“Oh yes! If he didn’t speak I could convince people he was my pet bear and they would throw him scraps of food.” 

Alucard smirked. “You know, I can see the resemblance.”

Trevor frowned. “Keep talking, I’m a vengeful bear.”

“So, you admit you’re Sypha’s animal.”

“Shut up.”

Sypha laughed, which caused Alucard to giggle, then Trevor to chuckle. Then they were all laughing like fools in the bathroom. 

Passing by, Lisa smiled to herself. It was nice that her son brought home friends. They were his first. She hoped they’d keep him stable through the days to come. They were going to be very trying days for all of them. 


End file.
